Step inside Smoked and Cracked restaurant in North Toronto and you instantly feel as though you’ve been transported to the Nova Scotia seacoast. With the aroma of freshly prepared seafood and the down-home friendliness of the staff, it’s not hard to imagine yourself sitting in a dockside café overlooking the picturesque Halifax harbour. In fact, it’s downright easy, given that the restaurant’s seafood is flown in directly from the east coast six days a week.
“Fresh makes the most impact,” says Ron Raymer, the restaurant’s chef and co-owner. Indeed fresh is one word that he invokes often to describe why his restaurant is such a hit.
After a winter full of meat and potatoes, switch over to lighter but still satisfying fish and seafood. All those omega-3s are a very good thing.
And at Smoked & Cracked - an often overlooked seafood spot - the choice is yours.
The best Lobster Boil in the city (MP) is a fun way to bring in the new season. There’s also fresh oysters, mussels, lobster rolls, Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail ($15), Smoked Rainbow Trout ($18.95) on greens, and a daily Fish Fry ($20).
Lobster rolls are on every menu it seems right now, but few get is right. The ones served in Boston and Cape Cod have very little mayo and the lobster is the real focus of the meal.
Smoked & Cracked is on top of the lobster roll game. They have two styles of lobster rolls on the menu, one served cold and one served hot! Both rolls are made with market lobsters and mixed with mayo and lemon. The lobster rolls are market price.